The “maker” movement’s roots are scattered across the country, in garages, basements, and workshops; the seeds sown among spare parts, untried ideas, and experiments—successful and failed.

“From a science and technology point of view, [making is] a gateway to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics),” says Dale Dougherty, the founder of MAKE magazine and Maker Faire, an event created by MAKE to “celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects, and the Do-It-Yourself mindset.” Dougherty, who also serves on the board of advisors of the Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed), adds, making “provides a context for science and technology and helps [students] do something they’re already interested in doing.”

Through MAKE and Maker Faire, Dougherty has been encouraging people of all ages to become makers and “approach science and technology not as an abstract, but [as] something very concrete they can engage with, have fun with…The idea of maker space right now combines elements of old shop classes, computer labs, and art.”